Job hunting.... London Style

In a city like London, being young and having limited experience in almost every field trying to find a job can be a daunting task. The most likely option to turn to is the hospitality field and as much as this brings you great experience in a lot of different areas often the hours are long, they can call you at virtually any time of the day to work and the pay is usually the minimum. When I first moved to London I had a live in job already arranged at a pub just 30 minutes from Central London by train in a typical style British village. I thought this would be a great way to kick off my British move. I took my one suitcase and was ready to move into my new room with my new flatmate, but when I turned up it was not what I expected at all. I stayed there for just under two hours in tears refusing to stay, luckily for me I had a friend close by that I could stay with until I figured out what to do.

As I can imagine most people will tell you that one of the hardest things to do in London is getting a job plus get one that you like, and let me tell you they're not wrong. I tried and failed for nearly two months trying to find even a semi-permanent position in the hospitality field. This was supposed to be my gap year, full of fun not being locked down in a job. I decided to do my research into agencies and what they would have to offer me. I looked more and more into the prospect of having an office job as I began to realize the pay was higher and I could work Monday to Friday at a 9 to 5 job which was much more safe and practical for an 18 year old girl living alone. I created profiles on:

Reed

Indeed

Sheridan Maine

Tiger

Office Angels

Love Success

just to name a few and many others until the calls started flooding in. I went to 3 different agency interviews before I decided to go with Reed (after going from no job I had to actually choose one! Yikes!). As I didn’t want to lock myself into anything long term at that point in time, I became a Reed Temp. I narrowed my position choices down to doing Reception and Admin work. I’m a confident speaker on and off the phone and love organisation, being around people and sending emails so this position couldn’t be more perfect to get me by!

Honestly, over my year living in London, this has been one of the best and most rewarding experiences I have had. I have worked for a range of different companies on 3 months long contracts to as little as a week going from top law firms to a stationery company, pharmaceutical, data analysis, financial institutes, construction and many more. I have met people from all backgrounds and in all fields and have made some great friends along the way. It has been a fun way to get to know industries and to find out what interests me and what doesn’t.

From working in these places I have gained mountains of experience that I otherwise wouldn’t have had if I limited myself to waitressing at a restaurant (not saying that waitressing is a bad choice if that's your thing because I did enjoy that too!). Some jobs can turn into permanent roles as I have found so make sure everytime you’re tempting that you’re giving it you’re absolute best because you never know if they’ll need someone permanently.

My advice to anybody looking for a job is to try temping! You will be able to gain an insight into fields that you might not have access to any other way and you might find something that you want to pursue that you've never thought of before! Make sure when choosing an agency that they’re reliable, read reviews, ask people and do your research to make sure you’re with the best because you deserve nothing less!

Feel free to email me with any questions you have or if I can help with anything! I will be writing a post soon on ‘How to be the best Temp’ with some tips on how to ace your interview, communicating with people via phone and in person and how to present yourself.

Ciao my Bellas!

Jordan x

Ps. Check out my bonus post to enter my giveaway! Enter on my Facebook or Instagram! The winner will be picked next week on Wednesday so stay tuned!